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Question 1
Incorrect
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A 25-year-old gentleman presents to the hospital feeling unwell and breathless. History reveals that he has chronic renal failure, for which he receives haemodialysis three times per week. Since one week prior to consultation, he has been on vacation and has missed two dialysis sessions. Examination reveals pulmonary oedema. His ECG shows no P waves, broad QRS complexes and peaked T waves. What should you do?
Your Answer: Transfer to the dialysis unit for haemodialysis
Correct Answer: Give 10 ml of 10% calcium gluconate intravenously
Explanation:The patient is most likely complaining of the effects of hyperkalaemia, due to missing his dialysis sessions. Additionally, because the patient presents with a risk of cardiac arrest (based on pulmonary oedema and ECG findings), the best intervention is to give calcium gluconate that will address the hyperkalaemia as well as improve the cardiac condition.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Nephrology
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Question 2
Incorrect
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A 35 year old sales representative presents with severe pain going down her neck and right arm. She admits that this pain is worse on sitting and driving for long periods. Past history is significant for two previous road traffic accidents. Examination reveals weakness and sensory loss over C5/C6 nerve distribution. There is pain with neck movement and particularly extension. Which of the following investigations would be the most helpful in this case?
Your Answer: Myelogram
Correct Answer: MRI scan of the cervical spinal cord
Explanation:Cervical radiculopathy is usually due to compression or injury to a nerve root by a herniated disc or degenerative changes. Levels C5 to T1 are the most commonly affected. It is usually, but not always, accompanied by cervical radicular pain, a sharp and shooting pain that travels from the neck and down the upper limb and may be severe. This needs to be differentiated from pain referred from the musculoskeletal (somatic) structures in the neck, which may be aching rather than sharp, and is more severe in the neck than in the upper limb. The neurological signs of cervical radiculopathy depend on the site of the lesion. The patient may have motor dysfunction, sensory deficits or alteration in tendon reflexes. While pain is a common presenting symptom, not all radiculopathies are painful (i.e. only motor deficits may be obvious). CT scanning cannot accurately demonstrate the commonest cause for cervical radiculopathy (disc herniation) without myelography, which requires hospital admission, lumbar puncture and the use of contrast. In patients with cervical radiculopathy, MRI is the imaging technique of choice for the detection of root compression by disc herniation and osteophytes. MRI allows the nerve roots to be directly visualised. Nerve conduction studies are also useful in determining the nerve roots that are involved.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Rheumatology
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Question 3
Correct
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A 50-year-old woman is investigated for weight loss and anaemia. Clinical examination reveals splenomegaly associated with pale conjunctivae. Her full blood count (FBC) report shows: Hb: 10.9 g/dL, Plts: 702 x 10^9/L, WCC: 56.6 x 10^9/L. Moreover, all stages of granulocyte maturation are seen on her blood film. Given the likely diagnosis, what should be the most appropriate treatment?
Your Answer: Imatinib
Explanation:This patient is a case of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and should be started on imatinib as the first-line drug of choice.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Haematology & Oncology
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Question 4
Incorrect
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A 27-year-old man with a history of asthma presents for review. He has recently been discharged from hospital following an acute exacerbation and reports generally poor control with a persistent night time cough and exertional wheeze. His current asthma therapy is: salbutamol inhaler 100mcg prn Clenil (beclomethasone dipropionate) inhaler 800mcg bd salmeterol 50mcg bd He has a history of missing appointments and requests a prescription with as few side-effects as possible. What is the most appropriate next step in management?
Your Answer: Modified-release theophylline
Correct Answer: Leukotriene receptor antagonist
Explanation:The NICE 2019 guidelines states that in patients who are uncontrolled with a SABA (Salbutamol) and ICS (Beclomethasone), LTRA should be added.
If asthma is uncontrolled in adults (aged 17 and over) on a low dose of ICS as maintenance therapy, offer a leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA) in addition to the ICS and review the response to treatment in 4 to 8 weeks. -
This question is part of the following fields:
- Respiratory
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Question 5
Incorrect
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Which one of the following statements regarding minimal change glomerulonephritis is incorrect?
Your Answer: Haematuria is rare
Correct Answer: Hypertension is found in approximately 25% of patients
Explanation:Hypertension and haematuria are not common presentations in minimal change glomerulonephritis, all other statements are correct.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Nephrology
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Question 6
Incorrect
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A 32-year-old woman, with a history of infertility, presented with post-operative bleeding from her abdominal wound. Her full blood count (FBC) and blood film showed hyperleukocytosis and the presence of promyelocytes, along with the following: Hb: 9.2g/dL, Plts: 932 x 10^9/L, INR: 1.4 (Coagulation profile). What should be the next step of management?
Your Answer: Give platelet infusion
Correct Answer: Give fresh frozen plasma
Explanation:The patient has acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APML) with associated disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). Although
the platelet count is high, platelet function is ineffective.Patients may present, as in this case, with severe bleeding, and the most appropriate emergency treatment would be administration of fresh frozen plasma (FFP).
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Haematology & Oncology
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Question 7
Incorrect
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A 53-year-old cashier with a history of chronic back pain presents for a check-up. He is aware of a dragging feeling affecting his left foot when he tries to walk. This has developed since a minor injury to his left knee. On examination, he has weakness of dorsiflexion and eversion of the left foot. The right is unaffected and plantar flexion and inversion are normal on the left. MRI of the spinal cord shows degenerative disc changes at multiple levels, but no evidence of cord or nerve root impingement. Nerve conduction studies and EMG results are pending. Which of the following sensory loss patterns would you expect to find in association with this motor defect?
Your Answer: Sensory loss over the plantar aspect of the foot
Correct Answer: Sensory loss over the dorsum of the foot and anterolateral leg
Explanation:This patient presentation is unlikely to be an L5 nerve root lesion given the results of the MRI scan. Therefore, the most likely diagnosis is a mononeuritis affecting the left common peroneal nerve. This would lead to sensory loss over the dorsum of the foot and anterolateral leg on the left.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 8
Correct
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A 75-year-old lady is referred to hospital from her GP. She has been treated for essential hypertension, with Bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg once daily and triamterene 150 mg once daily.  Routine investigations show: Serum sodium 134 mmol/L (137-144) Serum potassium 5.9 mmol/L (3.5-4.9) Serum urea 7.0 mmol/L (2.5-7.5) Serum creatinine 100 μmol/L (60-110)  Her blood pressure is measured at 134/86 mmHg. Her electrocardiogram is normal. The GP has stopped the triamterene today.  Which of these is the most appropriate action?
Your Answer: Repeat urea and electrolytes in one week
Explanation:Triamterene is a potassium-sparing diuretic that can cause hyperkalaemia, therefore, it was stopped in this patient. With all other lab results returning normal values and a normal ECG, management will simply require repeating the U & E after one week since the Triamterene has already be stopped.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Nephrology
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Question 9
Incorrect
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A 35-year-old woman visits you in the paediatric diabetes clinic with her 2-year-old son who has recently been diagnosed by type-1 diabetes. He has an identical twin brother and she is concerned about his risk of developing diabetes. What advice would you give regarding his future risk?
Your Answer: GAD antibodies in the unaffected child are not predictive of the risk of diabetes
Correct Answer: He has a 30–50% future risk of developing type-1 diabetes
Explanation:The frequency of type-1 diabetes is higher in siblings of diabetic parents (e.g., in the UK 6% by age 30) than in the general population (in the U.K. 0.4% by age 30), while disease concordance in monozygotic (identical) twins is about 40% i.e. the risk that the unaffected twin will develop diabetes.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Endocrinology
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Question 10
Incorrect
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A 34-year-old woman has had progressive reduction of visual acuity over the past 3 years. She has now almost lost all of her vision. What is the diagnosis?
Your Answer: Macular degeneration
Correct Answer: Retinitis pigmentosa
Explanation:Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreased peripheral vision. Onset of symptoms is generally gradual.
– In keratitis, there will be pain, redness and photophobia but vision is not affected
– In macular degeneration, near blindness does not occur rather the inability to identify faces or read small print
– Cataracts are more common in elderly
– It is not angle closure glaucoma as angle closure glaucoma occurs usually after the age of 50; In open angle glaucoma visual loss is not gradual but rather occurs suddenly following progression -
This question is part of the following fields:
- Ophthalmology
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Question 11
Incorrect
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An 80 year old female, previously diagnosed with polymyalgia rheumatica 18 months back, presents to the outpatient clinic with bilateral shoulder stiffness and generalized myalgia. The ESR was found to be 60mm/1st hour at the time of presentation. Prednisolone therapy was initiated at a daily dose of 15 mg along with Calcium and Vitamin supplementation. She reported resolution of her symptoms in one week. However the symptoms relapsed when the prednisolone dose was reduced below the current dose of 12.5 mg daily. How should she be ideally managed?
Your Answer: Continue to taper the prednisolone and treat any symptoms with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
Correct Answer: Continue the current dose of prednisolone and start methotrexate
Explanation:Polymyalgia rheumatica, a syndrome characterized by proximal muscle pain and stiffness in older persons, generally is treated with prednisone. Dosages of 15 to 25 mg of prednisone per day can reduce inflammation considerably, although many patients relapse when therapy is tapered. Long-term (18 to 36 months) steroid treatment has been recommended by several studies, but this can result in multiple side effects, including osteoporosis, hypertension, cataracts, and hyperglycaemia. Methotrexate has been used to reduce inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic vasculitis, and giant cell arteritis, and in some studies has been combined with prednisone to treat polymyalgia rheumatica, decreasing the duration of treatment.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Rheumatology
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Question 12
Correct
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Which of the following skin conditions is not associated with diabetes mellitus?
Your Answer: Sweet's syndrome
Explanation:Diabetic dermadromes constitute a group of cutaneous conditions commonly seen in people with diabetes with longstanding disease. Conditions included in this group are:
– Acral dry gangrene
– Carotenosis
– Diabetic dermopathy
– Diabetic bulla
– Diabetic cheiroarthropathy
– Malum perforans
– Necrobiosis lipoidica
– Limited joint mobility
– Scleroderma
– Waxy skin is observed in roughly 50%.Sweet’s syndrome is also known as acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis has a strong association with acute myeloid leukaemia. It is not associated with diabetes mellitus.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Dermatology
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Question 13
Incorrect
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Choose the correct statement regarding endothelin:
Your Answer: It acts on target cells by stimulating guanylate cyclase
Correct Answer: Endothelin antagonists are useful in primary pulmonary hypertension
Explanation:Current guidelines recommend the use of ambrisentan, Bosentan (recommendation I, level of evidence A) and macitentan (I, B) in patients with PAH and WHO functional class II and III. In WHO functional class IV, the first-line drug is Epoprostenol and the recommendation for Endothelin receptor antagonists is weaker (IIb, C).
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Clinical Sciences
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Question 14
Correct
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A 43-year-old man is about to be started on chemotherapy for a high-grade lymphoma. He is given intravenous rasburicase to help lower the risk of tumour lysis syndrome (TLS). What is the mechanism of action of this drug?
Your Answer: Converts uric acid to allantoin
Explanation:Rasburicase is a recombinant version of urate oxidase which is an enzyme that metabolizes uric acid to allantoin.
TLS is a potentially fatal condition occurring as a complication during the treatment of high-grade lymphomas and leukaemias. It occurs from the simultaneous breakdown (lysis) of the tumour cells and subsequent release of chemicals into the bloodstream. This leads to hyperkalaemia and hyperphosphatemia in the presence of hyponatraemia. TLS can occur in the absence of chemotherapy, but it is usually triggered by the introduction of combination chemotherapy. Awareness of the condition is critical for its prophylactic management.
Patients at high risk of TLS should be given IV rasburicase or IV allopurinol immediately prior to and during the first few days of chemotherapy. Allantoin is much more water soluble than uric acid and is therefore more easily excreted by the kidneys. Patients in lower-risk groups should be given oral allopurinol during cycles of chemotherapy in an attempt to avoid the condition.
TLS is graded according to the Cairo-Bishop scoring system as:
1. Laboratory tumour lysis syndrome
2. Clinical tumour lysis syndrome -
This question is part of the following fields:
- Haematology & Oncology
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Question 15
Incorrect
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An 18 year old boy, thin with a tall stature, and a high arched palate arrives at the hospital with a spontaneous pneumothorax. He is accompanied by his brother who has a similar appearance. You suspect Marfan's Syndrome. The gene encoding which of the following proteins is defective in this condition?
Your Answer: Collagen
Correct Answer: Fibrillin-1
Explanation:A variety of proteins compose the structure of microfibrils, the most prominent of which are the two fibrillins. Fibrillin-1 a scaffolding protein is encoded by FBN1 on human chromosome 15q21 and fibrillin-2 is encoded by FBN2 on 5q23. Mutations in FBN1 produce Marfan syndrome, a pleiotropic autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder with prominent manifestations in the skeleton, eye and cardiovascular system. A number of conditions related to Marfan syndrome are also due to FBN1 mutations.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Rheumatology
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Question 16
Incorrect
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A 13-year-old boy complains of several episodes of collapse. He describes the majority of these episodes occurring when he is laughing. He states that he loses power in his legs and falls to the ground. He is alert throughout and recovers quickly. He also describes excessive daytime sleepiness with episodes in the morning of being awake but being unable to move his body. Examination is unremarkable. A diagnosis of narcolepsy is made. Which of the following is the first line treatment for excessive daytime sleepiness?
Your Answer: Sertraline
Correct Answer: Modafinil
Explanation:Narcolepsy is a rare condition characterised by excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic hallucinations, and cataplexy (sudden collapse triggered by emotion such as laughing or crying). There is no cure for narcolepsy. Treatment options include stimulants, such as methylphenidate (Ritalin) or modafinil (Provigil), antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac), citalopram (Celexa), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft) and sodium oxybate (Xyrem). Modafinil has replaced methylphenidate and amphetamine as the first-line treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS).
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Neurology
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Question 17
Incorrect
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In idiopathic hypercalciuria, what management should be initiated if there is renal stone disease or bone demineralization?
Your Answer: Lithotripsy alone
Correct Answer: Dietary modification and thiazide diuretics
Explanation:Idiopathic hypercalciuria presents with excess calcium in the urine without an apparent cause. Dietary modification is the first step in addressing this condition, however, because hypercalciuria increases the risk of developing renal stones and bone demineralisation, thiazide diuretics should be prescribed to increase calcium reabsorption when these symptoms are also present.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Nephrology
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Question 18
Incorrect
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Question 19
Incorrect
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A 75 year old man was admitted to the hospital with worsening dyspnoea. He was given a five day course of Amoxicillin. On examination, his blood pressure was 89/59 mmHg with a respiratory rate of 35/min. A chest x-ray revealed left lower lobe consolidation. Past medical history: Type 2 diabetes mellitus Arterial blood gas on air: pH 7.34 pCO2 5.4 kPa pO2 9.0 kPa Which antibiotic therapy is the most suitable?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Intravenous co-amoxiclav + clarithromycin
Explanation:CURB Pneumonia Severity Score:
– Confusion (abbreviated Mental Test Score <=8) (1 point)
– Urea (BUN > 19 mg/dL or 7 mmol/L) (1 point)
– Respiratory Rate > 30 per minute (1 point)
– Blood Pressure: diastolic < 60 or systolic < 90 mmHg (1 point) Based on the CURB Pneumonia Severity Score, the patient has severe pneumonia. According to the 2009 Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Joint Commission consensus guidelines, inpatient treatment of pneumonia should be given within four hours of hospital admission (or in the emergency department if this is where the patient initially presented) and should consist of the following antibiotic regimens, which are also in accordance with IDSA/ATS guidelines. For non-intensive care unit (ICU) patients:
Beta-lactam (intravenous [IV] or intramuscular [IM] administration) plus macrolide (IV or oral [PO])
Beta-lactam (IV or IM) plus doxycycline (IV or PO)
Antipneumococcal quinolone monotherapy (IV or IM)If the patient is younger than 65 years with no risk factors for drug-resistant organisms, administer macrolide monotherapy (IV or PO)
For ICU patients:
IV beta-lactam plus IV macrolide
IV beta-lactam plus IV antipneumococcal quinoloneIf the patient has a documented beta-lactam allergy, administer IV antipneumococcal quinolone plus IV aztreonam.
The most suitable antibiotic therapy for this patient is therefore Intravenous co-amoxiclav + clarithromycin.
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This question is part of the following fields:
- Respiratory
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Question 20
Incorrect
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Which of the following is NOT a cause of onycholysis?
Your Answer:
Correct Answer: Mycoplasma pneumonia
Explanation:Onycholysis is the separation of the distal edge of the nail from the vascular nailbed causing whiteness of the free edge. Causes include:
– Idiopathic
– Trauma, excessive manicuring
– Infection: especially fungal
– Skin disease: psoriasis, dermatitis
– Impaired peripheral circulation e.g. Raynaud’s
– Systemic disease: hyper/hypothyroidism, reactive arthritis, porphyria cutanea tarda
– Sometimes a reaction to detergents (e.g. washing dishes with bare hands, using detergent-based shampoos or soaps).
– Patients with hepatocellular dysfunction may develop hair-thinning or hair loss and nail changes such as clubbing, leukonychia (whitening), or onycholysis. -
This question is part of the following fields:
- Dermatology
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